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Recipes by Gokpinar Cook Dursiye
Turksih Dolma
(stuffed vegetable with rice)
Dolma
Ingredients
Stuffing
3 medium tomatoes pureed in a blender or grated
1 onion grated
Small handful dill chopped
Small handful flat leaf parsley chopped
1 tablespoon dried mint
1½ cups rice

20 vine leaves
3 medium eggplants cored from top leaving base sealed
6 small green bell peppers cored from top leaving base sealed
3 zucchini peeled and cored from top leaving base sealed

Method
1.        Wash rice and mix with fresh herbs, mint, onion, tomato, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper and 1/3 cup olive oil. Rest for
30 minutes.
2.        ¾ fill a high-sided pot with water and bring to boil. Remove from heat, add vine leaves in one bunch and soak for 10-15
minutes until malleable then remove from water.
3.        Fill eggplants with water and 1 teaspoon of salt per eggplant and soak zucchini in salted water for 10-15 minutes. Rinse and
then fill eggplants, green peppers and zucchini with filling until 1cm from top. Place upright in a high-sided frying pan.
4.        Vine leaves: remove any stem poking out from the end of the leaf and then lay flat (vein side up). Place ½ teaspoon filling on
each leaf at the base near the stem. Fold the left and right side across the center line (should be about 3cm width). Beginning from
the stem end, roll towards point, tucking in sides as you go.
5.        Sprinkle 2 teaspoons salt over vegetables and carefully pour 2 cups boiling water into pan
6.        Cover pan, place on stovetop on high heat and bring to boil, turn heat down to a gentle simmer and cook for 40 minutes.
7.        When cooked through, remove from heat and spoon remaining juices over stuffed vegetables. Cool slightly before serving.
Can also be served cold.

Note: this recipe is also good when you add mince and/or pine nuts to the filling.
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